01 f150 supercrew

well, i was cleaning off my windsheild yesterday, and they worked fine. this morning i discovered my windshiled wipers don't work anymore. they move freely together at once(if i move once, they both move) and if have them like 3/4s of the way up they will catch and move a little bit then stop again. i found this a little while ago:

2001 FORD F150 VISIBILITY:WINDSHIELD WIPER/WASHER:MOTOR
Recall Date: 08/08/2001

Summary:
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION: PASSENGER CARS, SPORT UTILITY VEHICLES, AND LIGHT AND MEDIUM DUTY PICKUP TRUCKS. A SWITCH LOCATED IN THE PLASTIC COVER OF THE WIPER MOTOR GEAR CASE COULD MALFUNCTION AND OVERHEAT, POTENTIALLY RESULTING IN LOSS OF INTERMITTENT WIPER FUNCTION, LOSS OF WIPER PARK FUNCTION, COMPLETE LOSS OF WIPER FUNCTION, OR IGNITION OF THE PLASTIC COVER MATERIAL. SWITCH MALFUNCTION IS MOST LIKELY TO OCCUR WHEN THE INTERMITTENT SETTING OF THE WIPERS IS BEING USED, OR WHEN SNOW OR ICE OBSTRUCTS THE BLADES FROM RETURNING TO THE "PARKED" POSITION AT THE BOTTOM OF THE WINDSHIELD. THESE VEHICLES WERE BUILT AT THE FOLLOWING ASSEMBLY PLANTS: ATLANTA PLANT FROM 2/11/00 THROUGH 7/31/00; CHICAGO PLANT FROM 2/14/00 THROUGH 8/4/00; KANSAS CITY PLANT FROM 2/26/00 TO 9/4/00; KENTUCKY TRUCK PLANT FROM 2/18/00 TO 8/31/00; MICHIGAN TRUCK PLANT FROM 2/23/00 THROUGH 8/3/00; NORFOLK PLANT FROM 2/21/00 THROUGH 7/27/00; WAYNE STAMPING AND ASSEMBLY PLANT FROM 2/25/00 THROUGH 8/15/00; AND WIXOM PLANT FROM 2/15/00 THROUGH 8/8/00.

Consequence:
LOSS OF VISIBILITY WHILE DRIVING INCREASES THE RISK OF A CRASH.

Remedy:
DEALERS WILL INSPECT THE DATE CODE ON THE WIPER MOTOR. MOTORS BUILT WITH THE SUSPECT TIME FRAME WILL HAVE THE WIPER MOTOR GEAR CASE COVER REPLACED. OWNER NOTIFICATION BEGAN AUGUST 20, 2001. OWNERS WHO TAKE THEIR VEHICLES TO AN AUTHORIZED DEALER ON AN AGREED UPON SERVICE DATE AND DO NOT RECEIVE THE FREE REMEDY WITHIN A REASONABLE TIME SHOULD CONTACT FORD AT 1-866-436-7332.

Potential Units Affected: 1083000

Notes: FORD F150 01S24

but my truck isn;t in those recall dates, but that description fits it to a tee. with all the ice(i live in MA) building up, they weren;t returning "home" like they were supposed to. is it an easy fix? is it expensive? should i call ford and see if my truck is in the recall, even though when i search the vin it comes up negative.

i dont know,

thanks,
tom.

 

It's a problem with the design of the overall system.
The arms can freeze in ice and still break gears and the like.
Make sure everything is clean before you use them.
Down under the trim can also get frozen and make everything bins up.
The wiper motor dosn't know this and still tries to move the whole assembly.
Same with power windows. Don't try to move them until the cab is fully warmed if they are frozen fast at the window wipes.

 

Just saw a post recently where wipers didn't work. They were froze and if you force them it strips the knurled post that the arm is attached to. Take off both wiper arms and see if they are turning. The short fix was a little aluminum foil over post then tighten down arms. Maybe!

 

Welcome to the forum Tom

If you can move the wipers by hand then the problem isn't in the motor and the recall won't do you any good.
What's probably happened is the plastic socket on the wiper linkage, where it attaches to the pivot on the motor, is worn and fell off. From Ford you can't get just the socket, you have to buy the whole linkage assembly. I believe that there may be some aftermarket sources for the socket. I would check with local parts stores.

 

I just had a my wipers break on me, same thing, i turned on my wipers and there was ice on the cowl (dumb thing to do) and the wiper arm caught the ice and well, that was the end of that. The wipers only moved about an 1" to 2" so i took it to the dealer and the mech said the wiper transmission was bad and will cost me $430.00 bucks to fix. motor and trans all one unit, so how hard would it be to replace it myself. Its a 98 f-150

 

STOP!!! don't buy the socket or whatever....use Jimm66's recommendation first...I did this to my 2001 F150 and haven't had a problem since!
no need to take off the black cowl or anything, just pull the cap off each arm, take the nut off (or just try to tighten first) and then throw the Al foil on it...then tighten the nut, install the cap and test.

 

but the thing is, it's not those, because when i move one, both of them move still, so it must be the transmission, however it still turns on, so i wonder if someting just came undone.

 

I just had to replace the wiper motor for my '02 XL today.. I started the truck, let it warm up fully, cleared all the snow/ice from the windshield/cowl area, then,since the windshield was dirty figured I would run the washer to clear the glass.. the wipers went about 1 1/2 strokes and just quit. wiggled the driver side arm slightly, started to move and made an awful grinding noise. figured the gear in the transmission stripped, so I took the cowl cover off to take a look. the entire cowl vent area (where the wiper assembly hides) was a big block of ice (we had an ice storm here in MA, and I was away on business all week) the motor wasn't too hard to change. but it was a little bit of a trick to get the assembly out. first after removing all of the plastic covers over the cowl vent, I had to power the wipers on and shut the key off at the high point of the stroke so the linkages would clear the cowl. the other trick I found out was that the assembly would not come out with the hood closed or in it's normal open position, so I had to remove the ball sockets off the gas shocks and over extend the hood (basically it was straight up at a 90 degree angle from the truck) then a was able to get the assembly out in one piece and swap the motor out on the bench. wasn't really hard, just time consuming. (the remanufactured wiper motor cost me $53 at CAP)

 

for this one, i'd surely try the foil trick....mine would "jump" an inch or two...so i fixed it using the foil method.

 

ecship, samething here in NJ had an ice storm, i just bought a used complete unit with linkage and all from a salvage co. off ebay. the unit is supposed to only have 76,000 miles on it and has a 30 day warranty and as for the dealer wanting to charge me 430 bucks to do the job i think i will be able to do it myself. Thanks for your input on my problem.
Ernie

 

I see the windshield wiper posts are several years old, BUT the info is great! Didn't realize how thick the ice was when I turned on the wipers to clear the snow. Driver side wiper worked OK, passenger side swept a few times then stopped altogether. I removed the large nut holding the wiper arms, and sure enough the knurled area on the wiper arms was worn smooth. Forcing the wipers wound up stripping the knurled area. Tried the aluminum foil trick and it worked!! Not sure how long it will last, but in the meantime I have wipers again until I can figure out something more permanent (other than going to Ford dealer)!!

 

If I remember correctly the plastic ball and socket broke and ford only sells the whole assembly, but I found just the plastic sockets on eBay. I think I still have a couple of them leftover but I'm not sure. If that is your problem and you can't buy them anymore I'll see if I can find them

 

mine has lasted 7-8 years

 

Good thread!

I had a load of stuff in my wifes '98 F150 and had it in the shop taking up the spot where I could have parked my 2000 F150 last night knowing full well we were expecting snow. I went out to thaw it this morning and before it was all over with, the passenger side wiper would not turn.

I will definitely try the aluminum foil trick if I find the shaft slipping in the arm.

That said, if I have to replace some components, are they all under the black cowl plate as opposed to under the dash requiring dash removal?

As always, you guys help is greatly appreciated.

 

As follow up, I pulled the wiper and was surprised to find it to be a tapered connection. I used the aluminum foil and tightened back down. Solid as a rock now.

Thanks for the tip.